Retail establishments such as food markets vend upwards of thousands of items displayed on shelves and in display cases. Retail establishments carrying such products must not only be able to track them but must also be able to display them in conjunction with signage that is attractive and capable of differentiating brands or manufacturers.
Most grocery stores and food markets employ a computerized tracking system to enable a merchant to determine which products are successfully being purchased and which remain on store shelves. This information is critical to enable a vendor to maximize profitability by eliminating from store shelves those products which are not being purchased while enabling the vendor to efficiently reorder those products which its data system indicates are successful and thus being depleted in inventory. In this regard, reference is made to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 depicts signage 10 which later will be referred to as a “secondary sign.” Signage 10 contains a good deal of information which is necessary for product tracking through computerized databases but which detracts from the visually appealing impact which product signage should otherwise embrace. For example, besides pricing information 12, signage 10 also includes a bar code 111 and complimentary serial number information 14. A PLU # is also provided in field 13 together with a statement of the product being tracked, in this case, “ENGLISH STYLE POTATO SALAD.” Again, if such signage was to be placed within an easel-based holder in a deli case or along a C-channel situated in a display case, the fact that a certain variety of potato salad is being sold at 0.99 per pound would at worst be lost in the background information displayed on the signage, or, at best, would not represent a visually impactful sign likely to attract a retail customer.
In addition to the desire to obfuscate a number of fields of signage 10, retailers have recognized that providing signage which is attractive as well as informative and stimulating is most likely to have the desired effect of promoting product sales. However, signage 10 is simply too small and crowded to enable a retailer to add any additional customer stimulating or attracting information thereto. This is not surprising considering that signage 10 was designed for placement on the edge of a shelf, positioned for a consumer to have very close eye contact. However, such signage, in and of itself, is not particularly appropriate for highly stylized easel displays and the like where the viewing distance is increased.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide signage which informs and attracts customers while taking advantage of product tracking information necessary for internal inventorying of goods.
This and further objects will be more readily appreciated when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.